STARTUP STORY TEXAS TAMALE

Find out how a stay-at-home mom went from an at home tamale business to opening her own restaurant. This story will not only inspire you but help you understand the amount of work that goes into owning your own business.

The Texas Tamale Companyhas been making authentic, homemade, gluten-free frozen tamales since 1985 by a stay at home Mom who wanted a healthier alternative to the traditional tamale. She first began selling from a street-side cart on the far west side of Houston. As demand grew she too outgrew her home kitchen and opened a retail location named the Mexican Deli in Fountain View. We first met and tasted these these tamales at the Winter Fancy Food Showin San Francisco January 2014.

Since it’s launch, the Texas Tamale Company line has expanded into salsas, sauces, chilli, queso, drink mixes, and more…

Her motivation was raising her children with healthy food and teaching them how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Did she have a background in the food/drink industry when you started?

She was a stay at home Mom without any formal training in the food industry.

Is there a business idea that was left on the editing room floor?

Going into the restaurant business.

What are some of the rookie mistakes you made when starting out?

“If you build it, they will come”. Just because you have an amazing product and a website or a spot on a grocery store shelf, does not mean that people are going to buy it. You have to do demonstrations and promotions so that people can taste you product and notice it.

How do you stay motivated in the face of competition?

It’s our desire to produce and provide people with some of the healthiest tamales on the market and an easy way to enjoy Tex-Mex at home anywhere in the country.

What’s the strangest customer request or feedback you’ve gotten?

Have you ever thought about making a seafood tamale? No I have not and do not plan to.

What’s your main business goal for 2014?

Launching a new type of tamale into 200 grocery stores by the end of the year!

Where do you see your business in 10 years?

We see Texas Tamale as being the Eggo Waffle of frozen tamale brands.

Your dream celebrity endorsement (dead or alive)?

The Duke – John Wayne.

What’s your team or company motto?

Apathy. If we don’t take care of the customer, maybe they will stop bugging us.

Advice for someone with a great artisan food or drink idea?

Get it in people’s mouths. Sample, demo, and give product away. Once people try it they are much more likely to buy it and tell others how great it is.

Evona is a passionate foodie, entrepreneur and the founder of Undiscovered Kitchen, a digital farmer’s market for small batch, specialty foods! She loves discovering new foods from around the country and talking to the artisans who make them.